In Japan, there are coffee shops that are dedicated to exploring the art of home roasting raw coffee beans, and using the hand-drip method to extract maximum flavor. In this series, we’ll be taking you on a journey to discover these exceptional places, where the passionate philosophy of the shop owners adds an extra layer of flavor. In this 11th installment, we visit PHILOCOFFEA and its founder, Tetsu Kasuya, whose innovative brewing methods have reshaped the coffee scene. Here, every cup continues to evolve, offering a taste of both craftsmanship and Kasuya’s singular approach to coffee.
At the Cutting Edge of Evolving Coffee
PROFILE
Tetsu Kasuya began his career at an IT company before switching paths to become a barista in 2013. In 2016, he made history as the first Asian champion of the World Brewers Cup, the premier competition in the barista world. Today he leads the coffee company PHILOCOFFEA, which operates three shops in Chiba Prefecture and opened a flagship location in Omotesando in March 2025. He also serves as a coffee consultant for convenience stores and major companies in Japan and abroad.
Tetsu Kasuya is often described as a legendary barista, having risen to the title of world champion in less than three years after entering the world of coffee.
Yet what truly defines Kasuya is his constant evolution. His 4:6 Method, designed so that anyone could brew a great cup of coffee, quickly spread through the barista community as a groundbreaking drip formula. Still, he did not stay with the method for long.
He went on to develop the Hybrid Method, which combines percolation and immersion, and later refined it further into the New Hybrid Method, where immersion → percolation → immersion are repeated in sequence. Even as of December 2025, when this interview was conducted, he remarked with a smile, “It hasn’t been announced yet, but I’ve already discovered another new method.”
Where does Kasuya’s inspiration come from, allowing him to continually produce techniques that overturn conventional wisdom?
Kasuya prepares coffee using the New Hybrid Method, gauging the aroma that rises as he pours the hot water.
When asked about the source of this way of thinking, Kasuya explains, “New drip methods are always born from a sense that something isn’t quite right.”
For example, the ORIGAMI dripper is undeniably an innovation in that it can use both conical filters and flat-bottom filters. However, Kasuya says he was unable to arrive at a flavor he felt satisfied with.
“One day the idea of combining two different approaches suddenly clicked in my head, so I entered an exhibition match against the winner of the ORIGAMI CUP JAPAN 2025. I decided to try the new method I had been imagining, and it ended up winning.”
An original Arita ware cup. Kasuya’s first design was a thin, egg-shaped cup that highlights aroma, but he found it less suitable for coffees where sweetness is the focus. He later created a thicker, yunomi-style cup to better bring out those qualities.
Methods developed this way are eventually refined into clear formulas. Kasuya shares them not only with his staff, but also openly through platforms such as his YouTube channel.
“If everyone could brew delicious coffee, the value of coffee itself would rise. In a way, that would be my way of giving back for everything coffee has given me.”
He says producing results requires thinking, putting in the physical work, and repeating trial and error again and again, though his smile reveals none of the effort happening behind the scenes.
Coffee as a Mirror of the Self
He says that by aiming not for the best but simply for better, he continues to refine the flavor of his coffee.
The cup served for tasting was the TOKYO BLEND, created when the Omotesando shop opened in March 2025. Like the ever-evolving city of Tokyo itself, the blend changes gradually throughout the year as the coffee beans are rotated.
At its core is a floral Ethiopian washed coffee roasted lightly, complemented by juicy beans from Ecuador and an Ethiopian natural roasted slightly deeper to draw out its sweetness. The flavors also shift as the temperature changes, allowing the drinker to experience a different character with each sip.
“This was brewed using the New Hybrid method,” says Kasuya, “but these beans would actually taste even better prepared using a different approach.”
“Just the other day, it occurred to me that it might be better to change the drip method depending on the beans,” he continues. “A standardized process makes running a shop easier, but if you want to become the world’s best coffee shop, you have to pursue flavor even if it means putting in the extra time and effort.”
The package bears the words, There is no end to the path of mastery.
Adjusting the roast to suit each bean is standard practice, but Kasuya goes a step further by changing the brewing method as well. At the core of this approach is a single pursuit: making every cup as delicious as possible.
“Methods are built on theory, but if the result doesn’t taste as good as it can in the end, then it means nothing.”
Each year he attends international competitions, tasting the coffees of top baristas and updating his knowledge. By staying closely connected to the leading edge of flavor, he can work backward from that standard to refine both his brewing methods and roasting techniques.
Depending on the purpose, he uses two roasters: a fully hot-air rolling roaster and a Stronghold S7X. For grinding, he relies on a German-made Ditting, known for its precision burrs, and an Australian-made Option-O.
“If you ever reach a point where you think, ‘This is perfect,’ that’s when the journey ends. That’s why I want to keep pursuing not the best, but something better. Sometimes I feel the limits, but when you keep pushing, coffee itself shows you how those limits can be overcome. When I brew coffee by hand, there are moments when it feels like I’m stepping outside myself and looking down from above. It lets me reflect on my inner self. In that sense, coffee is like a mirror,” he says.
The logo features a stork standing on a window frame, symbolizing the aspiration to take flight into the world. With circumstances having changed since the company first launched, a redesign of the logo is now being considered.
After the interview, I bought a dip-style drip bag set from PHILOCOFFEA. As long as the temperature and timing are followed, the rich flavors can be recreated at home. Curious to understand the taste more deeply, I opened the website and found long stories describing the beans’ complex flavor profiles, the backgrounds of the farms, and even Kasuya’s impressions of the farmers themselves.
They read almost like love letters, filled with warmth that cannot be expressed through numbers or formulas alone. At that moment, Kasuya’s dedication to the pursuit of a truly delicious cup of coffee all made perfect sense.
PHILOCOFFEA’s vision is to fill the world of coffee with happiness and inspiration, a goal that also reflects Kasuya’s appreciation for the staff who work alongside him.
◾️SHOP
PHILOCOFFEA Omotesando
Address: GREEN TERRACE Omotesando B1F, 3-8-15 Kita-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Official website: https://philocoffea.com/f
◾️COFFEE
Roast level: Light to medium to dark
Roasters: Rolling Roaster (fully hot-air type / 15kg), Stronghold S7X
Grinders: Ditting, Option-O
Brewing method: Paper filter / HARIO V60 Dripper 02 Kasuya Model
Selection: 4 blends, approximately 10 single-origin coffees
Cups: Original Arita ware cups (different types are used depending on the coffee)
